US embassy releases report to Ugandans

According to the report, the relationship between Ugandan and America is a rock-solid pairing pointing towards a special bond between the two nations.  

The American and Ugandan people, it states, are benefiting from shared economic growth and dual employability, improved health and education between the nations and the upholding of democratic values which not only uplift the aspirations of the two countries but also promotes each country’s security. 

“Our mission in Uganda is clear: To build a healthy, vibrant, and prosperous society where every Ugandan child, woman, and man has opportunities to achieve their full potential,” U.S. Mission in Uganda Ambassador Natalie E. Brown said on the release of the U.S. Mission’s fifth annual Report to the Ugandan People.

The United States, operating via 13 government agencies, invests heavily in Uganda annually.

This investment is almost $1 billion annually in Ugandan communities. 

“While the United States’ financial investment in Uganda is significant, we measure success not in dollars spent but in lives impacted,” Ambassador Brown said. 

“We produce this report to explain what the U.S. government does in Uganda, why we do it, and how we do it,” she said.

 A lot of this funding goes to implementing partners and other community-based structures which go directly to the grassroots. None of this assistance goes through the Uganda government, the US ambassador said. 

 “While we implement our assistance programs with great accountability to U.S. taxpayers,” Ambassador Brown noted, “we want the people of Uganda to know that every dollar the United States invests in Uganda is upheld to the highest standards of oversight. Transparency and accountability in our assistance are key.”

Although the USA has played a signal role in assisting Uganda and Ugandans, many observers believe that US involvement in Uganda is not about Uganda but about China. 

The rivalry to win Uganda’s heart between China and the USA is palpable to many. Matters, in fact, reached a head when President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared "no country will rival what the US is doing" in helping Africa as a whole against Covid-19. 

As Pompeo bragged that "no nation ever has, or ever will" do more to support health in Africa, he cited the USA’s assistance to Africa of $170m (£134m). Ironically, this sum was almost matched by a single Chinese billionaire: Jack Ma. 

Whatever the case, the USA remains a key development to Uganda.